


Diamond in the Rough

by tiamat100



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: An OC Diamond, Grey Diamond, Planned/written Pre A Single Pale Rose, Prime Kindergarten, Rewritten to reflect that but is unlikely to take future episodes into account, but they are present in minor ways, the relationship tags aren't in the foreground of the story, unfortunately that is not a character tag option
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 23:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15130154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiamat100/pseuds/tiamat100
Summary: When Amethyst was found in the Prime Kindergarten, she wasn’t alone. With her was another gem created on Earth, one who never knew Homeworld and yet is burdened by a terrible legacy.Grey Diamond emerged not knowing who she was meant to be, and spent the next few millenia trying to become the opposite.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was planned and mostly written before A Single Pale Rose. I have since rewritten aspects of it, but I am choosing to upload the beginning now so I don't have to completely scrap it when the new episodes air. I'm very likely to rewrite this chapter in the next few days. Chapter 2 should be up tomorrow.

The first thing Grey learns about gems like her is that they are to be feared. She’d gone back to her hole in the Kindergarten, close to the top rather than close to the ground like Amethyst’s, but sound carries in the Kindergarten, and there was a voice she hadn’t heard before.  


Considering that until that moment Grey had believed that she and Amethyst were the only voices that existed, she’s surprised.  
Leaping down, Grey paused on the edge of a hole a few metres above her friend and the stranger. The sound of Amethyst’s enthusiastic words carries on the wind.  


“This is so cool! We didn’t know there was anyone else!”  


“We?” The other figure, tall and resplendent in a pink gown, asked with a musical lilt to her voice.  


“Me and Grey!” Amethyst exclaimed. “We’ve been here for so long, we didn’t think there was anyone else coming.”  


“I didn’t realise there was anyone else here.” The pink gem said. “Could you introduce me?”  


“Yeah, she just went to her hole, hang on- GREY!” Amethyst bellowed. “GREY, GET DOWN HERE!”  


Grey leapt again and landed close to them, making the strange gem move as if startled. Grey smiled.  


The stranger did not. She stared at Grey with a look of horror and sorrow on her face for a painfully long moment. Then, suddenly, she grabbed Amethyst and tossed her behind her, trapping her in a bright pink bubble. Amethyst looked outraged and began to yell and beat her fists against the thing, but to no avail. The strange gem produced a glimmering shield, and stared at Grey as if she was an enemy.  


“Get back, Diamond!” She said fiercely. “You will not take this planet! Are you a new Diamond? Are you trying to take over Pink’s colony?”  


Grey steeled herself- quite literally, as grey armour appeared over her body. She couldn’t summon a weapon like Amethyst, but armour came easily to her.  


“I demand you release Amethyst!” She yelled. “Let her go!”  


The new gem bristled. “I do not take orders from Diamonds!”  


“I don’t care!” Grey yelled. “Let my friend go!”  


The gem didn’t lower her weapon, but she did pause.  


“Friend? Diamonds don’t have “friends”.” She said, as if surprised.  


“Obviously Grey does!” Amethyst yelled, shapeshifting and bashing against the bubble. “Let me go, you stupid pink stranger! Grey!”  


The pink gem, who was only a little shorter than Grey, lowered her shield a little.  


“Perhaps I’ve been mistaken. . If we agree upon a truce, I will lower my shield and swear not to harm you. In return, I expect your word not to attack me or any of my friends. Is that acceptable?”  


Grey looked to Amethyst.  


“We can get her Grey! I’ll break this thing, just- gimme a sec-  


Grey was not as optimistic.  
“Fine. I agree not to harm you or your friends, if you and they do not harm me or Amethyst.” She wondered if she should have pretended there were more of them. She eyed the woman suspiciously as she lowered her shield and the bubble surrounding Amethyst vanished. Amethyst fell to the floor with a thump and stood, glaring at the other gem.  


“Hey! You-“  


Grey ran to Amethyst’s side.  
“You okay, Amethyst?”  


Amethyst nodded, glaring at the other gem. “No thanks to that liar.”  


The new gem smiled gently. “I didn’t intend to lie, Amethyst. Let me explain. My name is Rose Quartz. The only way I can explain is that the only other Diamonds I have known have been my enemies. I assumed that your- that this Diamond was the same. I would very much like to be proved mistaken.”  


“Pfft. Nobody likes to be proved wrong.” Amethyst said grumpily.  


“Perhaps not.” Rose agreed. “But I’d rather find a new friend than a new enemy.”  


Grey stared. “There are other Diamonds? Others like me?”  


Rose looked at her carefully.  


“In one sense, yes. Amethyst and I are similar types of gems, though not the same- both of us are Quartzes. But we are very different from each other. There are other Diamonds, but you don’t have to be the same as them. You can be… you.”  


Grey folded her arms. “Why should we trust you? We don’t know you.”  


Rose smiled. “You’re right. We don’t have a reason to trust each other, except for hope that we might become allies, even friends. Without that hope, what do we have?”  


“Each other, duh.” Amethyst said, gesturing to Grey. “We’ve managed okay so far.”  


Grey hated this. Amethyst had been so excited a few minutes ago. If there were other gems- a world beyond the kindergarten- but how could they trust this Rose Quartz?  


“I… would like to see beyond the Kindergarten.” Grey said carefully, glancing at Amethyst. “But I don’t want to go with someone who will attack me and Amethyst for no reason.” She looked at the smaller gem. “What do you think?”  


Rose looked surprised again at Grey asking Amethyst’s opinion. Amethyst fidgeted.  


“I dunno. I kinda wanted to go with her till she trapped me in a giant bubble!” She said angrily. Her shoulders slumped. “I like it here, but I want to know what else there is.”  


The stranger vanished her shield and held out her hand. “I’m sorry. I promise that I mean neither of you any harm. . It’s just that you look a lot like someone who tried to hurt me, and a lot of people I care about. If you come with me, I can introduce the two of you to some other gems. My friends Garnet and Pearl.”  


Grey did not want to go with someone who had just attacked them, but… there was a world beyond the Kindergarten. There were other gems. There were new experiences to be had beyond sitting on rocks and playing jokes on Amethyst.  


But the new gem was shaking her head. “Or perhaps it would be better if I brought them here. They… also have unpleasant associations with the person who looks like you.”  


“A diamond.” Grey said. She was tired of this tiptoeing around the subject. She was a Grey Diamond, and all the Gem- Rose’s- words had centred around that. “You are an enemy of a diamond.”  


Rose looked tense, but nodded. “Yes.”  


“Are you my enemy?” Grey asked. Reasonably, she thought.  


Rose looked at her solemnly. “I hope not to be. I have no reason to be.”  


Grey tried desperately to think. This was so beyond her – admittedly very limited- experience. Should they trust this person or not?  


Amethyst put her hands on her hips. “ A minute ago there wasn’t a problem. Why should we invite you to our home if you don’t trust us in yours?”  


That was a good point. What if she was just making an excuse to get help to fight them? But if they went elsewhere, they could be lured into a trap.  


Still, she didn’t see that they had much choice.  


The other gem smiled. “I understand, but I don’t think it would be safe for your friend if I took you back without talking to them first.”  


“A diamond?” Pearl spluttered. “There’s a Diamond on Earth?”  


“Yes.” Rose said gently. “I found her in the prime kindergarten. There’s an Amethyst, too-“  


“It’s got to be a trick!” Pearl said rapidly. “They’re coming for us again and they’ve – they’ve sent her as a trick, to, to infiltrate us or-“  


Rose shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t think that’s the case. Neither of them seemed to know anything about the war. They hardly seemed to know there was a world beyond the Kindergarten. “  


“We can’t trust her.” Garnet said, clenching her fists. “We have to stop her.”  


Rose looked at her carefully. “Is she really a danger, Garnet? She wasn’t part of the war with Homeworld. She doesn’t know what a Diamond is meant to be like. Is there not any possibility that she could be an ally?”  


Pearl looked between them, silent and worried. Garnet glowered.  


“She’s a Diamond! They’re made to rule and destroy! They hate fusion!”  


Rose’s voice turned pleading. “Garnet, please, keep an open mind. Can’t you look and see if there’s any chance she might be different? She’s never been taught what a Diamond is meant to do!”  


Garnet shook her head. “I don’t understand how you can ask that. You’ve seen what the Diamonds do! What they did to this planet, to our friends! Diamonds can’t be trusted!”  


Rose folded her arms. “This Diamond never did any of that! She’s a brand new gem, she had no part in that!”  


Rose rarely got truly angry with her friends, but she seemed it now. Garnet couldn’t understand why it was so important to Rose.  


Pearl knew one reason why it was important, but she couldn’t say it.  


“I… don’t know if we should trust this Diamond.” Pearl said slowly. Rose looked at her with hurt in her eyes. “But,” Pearl continued, “I- lots of gems who joined us did things they weren’t made for. I wasn’t meant to fight or think or talk. You weren’t meant to fuse or- or care about each other. Rose wasn’t meant to-“ She floundered. “Start a rebellion, or love the Earth. We all did things we weren’t made for.”  


“Diamonds are different!” Garnet insisted. “We can’t let her just do whatever she likes on Earth!”  


“Wouldn’t it be better, in that case, to welcome her as a friend?” Rose countered. “We could teach her how we see the Earth, we could make sure she doesn’t become what a Diamond would be expected to become!”  


Rose looked so hopeful, so excited, that Garnet almost wanted to believe Rose was right. Within her, conflicting opinions appeared. Should she look into the future, trying to see past her anger, or stick to what she knew was true? She froze for a long moment, struggling. Then, in a burst of light, Garnet vanished and two smaller gems took her place.  


“We can’t do this!” Ruby yelled. “She’s a Diamond, Sapphire! You know what Blue Diamond did to us, and she was meant to be the merciful one! Every Diamond ever made has been like that!”  


Sapphire’s lip trembled. “I know, Ruby, but we have to be logical. We need to find the future which is least likely to cause that kind of harm.”  


Ruby stomped, smoke rising from her. “I can tell you what will do the least harm- keeping that Diamond far away from us! Bubbling her, maybe!”  


“She isn’t the one who hurt us.” Sapphire said quietly. “If we make her an enemy, things will only get worse.”  


“How can things get worse?” Ruby spluttered. “They’ve destroyed our friends, destroyed our rebellion, and now we’ve split up over this! The Diamonds just destroy everything!” She punched the wall, leaving a small, smoking crater behind.  


“You need to calm down, Ruby.” Sapphire intoned. Ice spread from her. “I don’t like this any more than you do, but you need to look to the future. We need to be the bigger gem. We need to give her the chance.”  


Ruby threw up her hands. “I’m not giving a Diamond the chance to destroy us, Sapphire!”  


The temperature dropped further, Sapphire’s ice colliding with Ruby’s heat.  
“Yes, you are. I’m the one trying not to. If we treat her as an enemy, she’ll become one. If we treat her as a friend-“  


“Diamonds can’t have friends!” Ruby exclaimed.  


Pearl looked to Rose in horror, not sure what to do about the argument. Neither of them could really solve it.  
Rose spoke softly. “Sapphire, what do you see?”  


Sapphire turned to her. “I saw more as Garnet, but we had a better chance of her not hurting the Earth if we befriend her.” She said coolly, sounding unhappy with the words even as she said them.  


Ruby groaned. “How can we try to be friends with a Diamond?”  


Rose looked to Ruby, sorrow in her eyes. “Isn’t it more important to protect the Earth? To keep Sapphire safe? To keep all of us safe?” She asked softly.  


Ruby frowned. “Yeah, of course, but-“  


“If Garnet saw that befriending the Diamond, or at least being kind to her, was the most likely to achieve that, isn’t that better than causing a fight?”  


Ruby looked to Sapphire. “I-“  


Sapphire reached out her hands. “I don’t like it either. But if we look together, as Garnet, we can find the best solution for all of us.”  


Ruby fretted. “We can’t trust her.” She insisted.  


“Maybe you don’t have to, at least not right away.” Rose offered. “Just act like you do. As long as we don’t give her a reason to fight us, you can feel however you want on the inside.”  


Sapphire took Ruby’s hand. “We can do it, Ruby. We don’t have to trust her. We just need to make her trust us.”  


Ruby nodded. Without any further action, the two fused, and Garnet stood before them again. She glared at Rose.  


“I don’t like this plan.” She stated plainly. “I will go with you to the Kindergarten. We can all see for ourselves. If I see that she is going to turn on us, you need to believe me.”  


Rose nodded. “I always believe you, Garnet.” She said. Garnet couldn’t swear that it wasn’t a lie, but it didn’t matter.  
Pearl looked at Rose. “Are you sure? Rose, this could ruin everything.”  


“It’s gone too far to avoid doing something.” Rose said. “This Diamond already exists. She already saw me and spoke to me. She and her friend, the Amethyst, know that there’s a world beyond the kindergarten now and they know that we exist. Extending a hand of friendship to them is the best thing we can do.”  


Pearl hesitated. She didn’t like it, not at all. What if this other Diamond could tell what Rose was? The Homeworld Diamonds had never noticed, but they never got so close. Still, Pearl trusted Rose more than anything.  


She nodded, and Rose took it as agreement and beamed.  
They all warped into the Kindergarten together. The two newer gems, who had been sitting on the ground talking, leapt to their feet. Pearl was surprised. She’d pictured a huge Amethyst soldier and a towering Diamond giant, not an Amethyst the size of a human child and a Diamond only slightly taller than Rose. She was nowhere near as tall as a Diamond was meant to be, not even as tall as Pink Diamond had been.  


Rose stepped out, hands outstretched to demonstrate her good intentions.  
“Hello again, Diamond, Amethyst. These are the friends I told you about, Pearl and Garnet.”

Grey nodded slightly, refusing to show her uncertainty and discomfort in front of these strangers. Amethyst folded her arms.  
“I call her Grey, not Diamond.” She said petulantly.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Grey. Hello.”  


Grey tried to smile, raising her head to look confident.  
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you all.”  


Pearl sniffed. Garnet stepped forward, only just managing to not be threatening.  
“We need you to answer some questions.” She said firmly.  


Grey stiffened. “As long as we can ask questions too, that’s fine.” She wanted to reach out to take Amethyst’s arm, but she didn’t want to risk doing that in front of these strange gems.  


Rose smiled. “That sounds fair. What do you want to know?”  


Grey opened her mouth, but Amethyst spoke first.  
“Everything! Who are you? Where do you come from? Are you from this kindergarten too? Did other gems come from all the holes here? Where are the rest of us? Where is this? Why don’t you like Diamonds? How did you find us?”  


The questions all came from her so quickly that the Crystal Gems could hardly take it in. Pearl blinked, but stayed firm.  
“We need to know-“  


“Let’s answer some of their questions first.” Rose said gently. “Perhaps we should take turns to share information.”  
Garnet glowered and Pearl glared, but Rose continued.  


“We call ourselves the Crystal Gems. As I said, I am Rose Quartz. This is Pearl and Garnet. We are gems, like you, who live on Earth.” 

Rose turned to Pearl. “Would you like to ask them questions?”  


This was a calculated move. If they were Homeworld gems who were lying about their origins, they wouldn’t take kindly to being interrogated by a Pearl.  


Pearl looked at them calmly. “Certainly. How did you get to Earth?”  


Grey blinked. “I don’t understand. We’ve only ever been here.”  


“What were your roles on Homeworld?” Pearl demanded.  


“Where’s homeworld?” Amethyst asked, confused.  


“What is your mission here on Earth?” Pearl’s voice was growing shrill and angry.  


“We don’t… have one? Are we meant to have a mission?” Grey asked. “What kind of mission?”  


Garnet glowered. “They could be lying.”  


Grey glared at her. “How dare you! I haven’t been anything but honest with all of you, even though you’re strangers and all you’ve done is act like we’re enemies! Why do you even hate Diamonds so much?”  


There was silence for a moment. Rose cleared her throat.  
“I suppose you do need more explanation.” She said carefully. “There are many reasons, actually. The Diamonds I knew tried to colonise this planet. They wanted to destroy the Earth and all the life on it. I refused, but they wouldn’t listen to me. When I turned against them to try and protect the Earth, they tried to destroy me and my friends.” It was mostly true, from a certain point of view.  


Rose looked at Pearl, clearly hoping she’d add to Rose’s answer. Pearl hesitated.  
“They wanted all gems to serve them.” She said slowly, and quietly. “We were disposable, to them. They used us and discarded us like broken tools.”  


Grey flinched.  
“I’m sorry.” She whispered. She looked down, then forced herself to look at Rose’s face. “Why did they want to destroy the Earth?”  


Rose paused. “That’s complicated. As far as any of the gems on Homeworld knew, it was just how things had always been. Homeworld is the planet gems came from originally. The Diamonds have colonised thousands of other worlds, destroying all the native life in order to create more and more gems for them to use as servants.”  


Grey felt very small, all of a sudden. Diamonds… destroyed things? Destroyed entire planets?  
“Well, this Diamond’s not like that.” Amethyst proclaimed, jerking her thumb towards Grey. “I destroy way more stuff than she does. Remember when I said you couldn’t break more rocks than me?”  


“I let you win.” Grey muttered.  


“Nuh uh!” Amethyst stuck her tongue out. “I’m way better at smashing rocks.”  


“You smash them, I cut them up. It’s a team effort.”  


“Not really. I just let you think that. I’m way better at it.” Amethyst bragged.  


Rose laughed. “You two compete to destroy rocks?”  


Grey flushed, embarrassed. “Well, I guess, sometimes. There’s not much to do here. Do you see anything but rocks?”  


“I suppose not.” Rose smiled. “There is a world outside the Kindergarten, you know. There are other things to do.”  
Amethyst tilted her head.  


“Like what?”  


“Like… learning. Sharing stories. Friendship. Combat lessons. Music, creativity. The beauty and variety of life. There’s so much more out there than you can imagine.”  


Amethyst’s eyes were wide and enthusiastic. Grey was sure hers were too.  


Pearl looked worried. “Are we really doing this?” She murmured. “Letting them leave?”  


Grey’s ears were sharper than she had realised. Her eyes hardened.  
“What do you mean, let us leave?” She said tensely. “We aren’t going to stay here just because you say so!”  


Garnet had been very quiet until now, but she spoke firmly, gazing ahead.  
“No. Attempting to keep you from leaving would be a very bad thing.” She did not glance at the others, but to the Crystal Gems the message was clear. Garnet was looking into the future, and it was too late to avoid letting these gems join them.  


“Then will you come with us?” Rose asked, almost casually. “We could show you the places we like the best, and get to know you as friends.”  


Garnet’s head swivelled slightly towards Rose, but she said nothing.  
Pearl wrung her hands. “Is it really a good idea to invite a Diamond to live with us?” She asked worriedly. “Won’t it- I mean, won’t she-“  


Grey’s eyes darkened, and her skin began to harden. Pearl’s eyes widened and she took a step backwards. She looked like she was trying to hide being afraid, but she did not succeed.  
A part of Grey felt powerful, making Pearl afraid. That part of Grey terrified the rest of her, especially after what had been said. She took a deep breath and stopped her armour from fully forming, stepping back to show she meant no harm.  


“I won’t intrude in your home.” She declared, with all the confidence of a monarch making a proclamation. “I will not go where I am not wanted. I take it you don’t have a problem with Amethyst?”  


Pearl glanced at Rose.  
Amethyst stared at Grey.  
“What?”  


Grey’s face crumbled. “You want to see the world, right? You want to go with them? It would be better than here, with just me. You know that.”  


“But you have to come too!” Amethyst insisted. “You- we- we’re a team, remember?”  


Grey turned away. “They don’t want me to come with them. I’m not going to destroy their friendships like a Diamond is apparently meant to do.” Her voice was more bitter than she had intended. “You go, Amethyst. I’ll just… stay here. Or find my own way. I’ll be fine.”  


Amethyst’s face was horrified. Grey was ashamed to discover she was crying. She wiped her eyes fiercely, hoping the Crystal Gems hadn’t noticed.  
“Hey, it’s okay. I’ve still got my hole, right? And the rocks?” Grey said glumly. “You go, Amethyst. Go on.”  


Amethyst didn’t speak. She just stared.  
Rose bit her lip and turned to Pearl, speaking rapidly in quiet tones. Grey tried not to hear it. Instead she hugged Amethyst.  


“You’re my best friend. I’m not going to keep you stuck here when we know there’s something else.”  


Pearl was murmuring back to Rose. Finally she sighed and nodded, and Rose and Pearl looked to Garnet. Garnet shifted almost minutely from one foot to the other, then lowered her head a fraction. A reluctant nod.  


Rose turned back to Grey and Amethyst with a smile.  
“You’re being very kind, Grey, but you are both welcome to come with us. We promise that none of us will harm either of you, except if necessary for self-defence. Will you come?” 

Suddenly Rose sounded excited, her eyes full of delight.  
Grey was confused. How had Rose Quartz convinced the others to change their minds? Was she their leader?  


Amethyst was less excited now, but Grey knew they’d likely only get one chance. Perhaps they could find other gems, once they’d been shown the world outside the kindergarten. Find their own way. But for now, their best hope was to go with the Crystal gems.  


“I accept.” Grey said, trying to keep her voice from cracking. Amethyst gave a victory yell. “Thank you.”


	2. Temples and Tribulations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grey feels more lonely than she ever did in the Kindergarten, and she and Amethyst learn a bit more of why the Crystal Gems fear the Diamonds.

Temples and Tribulations  


By the time the two new gems had reached the temple and had been shown a mere fraction of what it held, Amethyst was a (literal) ball of excitement. Grey was almost as joyful, though she wasn’t as fond of shape-shifting. She stared at it all with wonder- the stone so different from the kindergarten, the life and plants that she’d never seen, the ocean, full of beauty and variety.

She kept her distance from the other gems, though, after the initial tour. Amethyst followed Rose Quartz around constantly, and sometimes Grey joined them, but there was a lingering awkwardness that Grey didn’t know how to banish.  


Garnet, while not being outwardly hostile in the sense of throwing around insults or attacks, did not welcome her. She seemed to either be avoiding Grey or observing her carefully, as if watching for any sign of evil. Pearl seemed nervous of her, and talked to her only when necessary. Rose Quartz was polite, even friendly, but it was clear that she was more comfortable with the amiable Amethyst.  


More and more, Grey wondered what she could possibly be doing wrong. 

Grey found jealousy and resentment building within her. Before, she’d always been able to count on Amethyst. Now she and Amethyst had left the Kindergarten and found other people to talk to, but Grey felt more alone than ever.  


At least the beauty of the world beyond the kindergarten was still interesting. The kindergarten could have it’s charms, limited as they were, but Grey couldn’t fathom wanting to replace the diversity she saw now with the barren nature of the Kindergarten. It would be nice to have more gems to talk to, maybe ones who didn’t hate her for something she’d never done, but was it worth destroying the sea, the sand, the grass, the flowers and the animals? The rabbits who would come up to her if she stayed still enough, the foxes that would slink through the trees. The way a cat would patiently stalk it’s prey and dispatch it in a deadly leap. The birds and the light trilling noises some of them made, or the loud screeches of others. There was so much variety. It was astounding.  


She was too proud to beg to be included in sparring sessions or hand around where she wasn’t wanted, so she spent much of her time wandering around alone. This world didn’t seem to hate her, at least not yet.

Rose approached Garnet while Amethyst was out exploring. The purple gem liked to explore, so there wasn’t a dearth of opportunities.  
“I’m concerned about Grey.” She said carefully.  


Garnet nodded. “We don’t know what she’s doing. She could be working against us.”  


Pearl whirled to look at them.  
“What? You think she’s-“  


“Not yet.” Garnet said, almost reluctantly. “But she could. I see numerous possibilities if we fail to make her trust us. She might leave us entirely. She might become angry and attempt to harm us. She might try to contact Homeworld.”  


Pearl gripped her hands together.  
“We have to stop her, we have to do something. Get rid of her, somehow, or-“  


“Not so harsh.” Rose said, placing a hand on Pearl’s arm. “She’s done nothing wrong yet. There must still be a way we can prevent the outcome Garnet just described.” She looked at Garnet with deep faith in her eyes.  


Garnet paused. “She’s not an enemy yet. The longer we leave her, and ignore her, the more discontented and resentful she becomes. We can change that, but there are risks. “  


Pearl frowned. “So what can we do? How do we stop that?”  


Garnet frowned. The words came from her mouth as if she had to drag them out.  
“We need to stop treating her like an enemy. If she believes that we want to welcome her and trust her, that will lead to better outcomes.”  


“We did welcome her.” Pearl insisted. “We let her into the Temple and let her-“  


“She won’t trust us if she doesn’t think we trust her.” Garnet stated plainly. “We don’t spend time with her like we do with Amethyst. We haven’t invited her to train or spar. We need to change that, no matter how difficult we find it.” Her mouth twisted in distaste.  


“We need to treat her like a friend.” Rose agreed. “Welcome her like we would a new Crystal Gem.”  


She shook her head.  
“I’m not saying that it will be easy. I’ll invite her to join Amethyst and I for training, and show her more of the Temple. If you two could also include her, that would be wonderful.”  


She smiled. She didn’t order Pearl to do anything. She never did. Nevertheless, Pearl felt the weight of her words almost as if they were a command. She said nothing. 

Grey was sitting on a cliff overlooking the beach when she heard someone coming up towards her. She turned to see Garnet, Pearl and Rose Quartz walking towards her, and internally flinched. This was it. They were going to tell her she wasn’t welcome, or attack her, or-  
Well, fine. If she wasn’t welcome, she’d leave. There was a whole world out there. The only one of them she’d miss was Amethyst.  


She stood to face them on her feet.  


To her surprise, Rose smiled warmly as she approached.  


“Hello, Grey.” She said lightly. “How are you finding Earth?”  


Grey frowned. “I- it’s beautiful.”  


“I’m glad you think so. It’s your home now, too.”  


Grey folded her arms.  
“There’s a lot to see.” Rose continued. “Lots more than you’ve seen so far. Perhaps-“  


“It’s a big planet.” Grey interrupted sourly. “I get it. It’s a big planet, and you want me on the other side of it, or whatever. Fine. I’ll go, but not until I’ve told Amethyst where I’m going.”  


Garnet shook her head slowly. “That’s not what we want.”  


“We don’t want you to leave, and we’re not asking you to.” Rose said calmly. She glanced with concern at Garnet, wondering how close they’d come to having a resentful Diamond roaming the Earth.  


“Actually, we came because I wanted to apologise. I haven’t been as welcoming as I should have been. I never intended to make you feel like that.”  


Grey couldn’t imagine being more surprised.  
Garnet spoke. “We are inviting you to join us. For… activities.”  


Grey tilted her head, a hesitant and hopeful smile on her lips. “What activities?”  


Garnet looked slightly uncertain, but Rose smiled. It was Pearl who spoke, with a sense of slight urgency.  
“Well, there are some dangerous things on this planet, and we’re all trained as warriors to defend ourselves and the humans. You could join us for training.” The last sentence was said stiffly, as if she was forcing herself to say something rehearsed.  


“Amethyst will be there too.” Rose added.  


Grey eyed them warily.  
“Right.” She wanted to ask why they all hated her so much, why they still looked like making this offer was some kind of sacrifice for them, but she didn’t want to ruin this. “Yes. I would like that.”  


“Great!” Rose grinned and held out her hand. “Shall we go now? I don’t think we’ve shown you the Sky Arena.”  


Grey took Rose’s hand cautiously, eyeing it like a snake that might bite. “Sky Arena?”  


Rose nodded. “This way!”  


Rose led her to the warp pad, and Grey found herself shocked to discover the Warp Pads didn’t just go between the Temple and the Kindergarten. They could go to multiple places! How many things on this Earth were there for her to explore?  


They reappeared in a beautiful, ancient looking Arena. There were tall statues and steps and wide spaces. Some of it was in disrepair, ruined or smashed, but what was whole was stunning. It was also rather intimidating.  


Amethyst was sitting on the edge, flourishing her whip harmlessly. She turned when she heard them enter and grinned.  
“Grey! You’re finally joining us! I thought you were avoiding me or something.”  


Grey forced a smile. “I’d never do that. Just a bit overwhelmed by, you know, not being surrounded by rocks and holes in rocks.”  


Amethyst snicked and gestured at the arena where they stood. “Pretty sure this place is made of rock and holes in rock too, Grey.”  


Grey stuck her tongue out. “You know what I mean.”  


Amethyst prepared a retort, but Pearl cleared her throat.  


“If you want to train, come over here and get ready.” She commanded. Grey and Amethyst shot slightly amused glances at each other before scurrying over to stand where Pearl indicated.

 

Grey had been surprised that Pearl was the one who stepped up to test their abilities. The others seemed so much bigger and more confident. Plus Pearl kind of made her nervous. Looking at Pearl’s face, Grey had a feeling it was mutual.  


“First let’s see what we have to work with.” Pearl commanded. “Can you both summon your weapons?”  


Amethyst grinned. “Yeah!”  


She summoned her whip as if it was the easiest thing in the world, flourishing it and nearly hitting a pillar. Pearl’s eyebrow twitched.  
“Good. That’s certainly a versatile weapon.” She looked at Grey. “And you?”  


Grey hesitated. “Mine isn’t really a weapon-“  


“Well, show us what you have.” Pearl smiled thinly. “I’m an expert in multiple forms of combat.”  


Grey nodded. It took her a moment to summon her armour. Her emotions were all muddled, but in a short time she managed to cover herself with the smooth grey plating of her armour. Pearl’s mouth opened a little, and she swallowed. Her eyes flicked towards Rose for just an instant, so fast Grey wasn’t entirely sure that she’d seen it.  


“Your weapon is armour.” Pearl managed. “That’s useful. I don’t really have much experience with that, myself. Does it have any offensive capabilities?”

Grey frowned. “I… haven’t really tried to use it to fight or anything, but the edges of some of the plates are pretty sharp.”  


Pearl nodded slowly. “Good. You can use that.”  


Grey withdrew her armour, feeling awkward..  
“Why do you guys train to fight, anyway? Who do you fight?”  


Was it the other Diamonds that they’d mentioned? Rose had said they weren’t on Earth anymore.  


Pearl’s mouth twisted unpleasantly. “Our friends, mostly.” She said bitterly.  


Grey’s eyes widened. “What?”  


“The Diamonds-“  


“Pearl!” Rose interrupted. “Perhaps I should explain?”  


Pearl glared for a second, then bowed her head in acquiescience. Rose stepped towards grey and Amethyst.  
“Let’s sit down. This needs some explanation.”

Grey wasn’t ssure how long it had taken for Rose to explain about the war, a war that had gone on for centuries. She told them that the Kindergartens stole the life right out of the Earth to make them. She told them that she and Pearl had rebelled. That they’d fought for thousands of years before the Diamonds had retreated.  


“We thought we had won.” Rose said, full of sorrow. “ We thought they were leaving the Earth in peace. But once the Diamonds had left, they used a terrible weapon. It corrupted the minds and forms of all the gems on Earth. The three of us sheltered behind my shield and survived. We were lucky.” 

Beside her, Pearl projected a hologram from her gem. It showed an image which changed from what Grey assumed to be a “normal” gem to a strange, snarling beast. With a dark look at Grey, Pearl expanded the hologram to show them more. It showed a group of rebels, struck by something invisible, writhing in agony as their forms mutated. Grey flinched backwards, covering her eyes reflexively. Amethyst shrieked. Rose lay her hand on top of Pearl’s, and the image vanished. 

“That is what the Diamonds did to us.” Garnet stated coldly. “That is why we were afraid when Rose found you in the Kindergarten.”  


“You don’t have to be like them!” Rose interjected passionately. “So many of our friends did things that gems like them never did on Homeworld. You were both made here, on Earth, and that means you can choose your purpose, you can choose who you’ll be!” Rose’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Any gem can do or be anything, that’s what we learnt in the rebellion.” Rose smiled, then added in an almost melancholy, regretful tone.  


“You are not responsible for what the Diamonds- the other Diamonds- did.”  


Grey nodded mutely. Her hand found Amethyst’s.  
She hoped that Rose was right. 

They decided not to continue the training right away. They were all emotional after that conversation. Grey sat with Amethyst, mostly in silence. Amethyst was rarely quiet, but this information had shocked them both.  
“Rose said we can choose.” Amethyst muttered eventually. “You’re not gonna be like that.”

Grey stared at her best friend.  
“How can you know that? They all thought I’d be like that. They-“  


“They’re wrong, okay?” Amethyst let out a huffy breath. “We’re gonna do whatever we want and protect this planet, right?”  


Grey smiled weakly. “Right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was basically born of my wondering "What would a Diamond be like if they never knew Homeworld? What would it be like if a Diamond became a Crystal gem?"  
> Well... I've had to rewrite parts of it since A Single Pale Rose, but most of it is keeping to my original plan. I haven't seen the new episodes yet, but I'm planning to keep the plan as it is now unless the new episodes give me a better idea.


End file.
